germ cell

American  

noun

Biology.

1. the sexual reproductive cell at any stage from the primordial cell to the mature gamete.

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germ cell British  

noun

1. a sexual reproductive cell; gamete Compare somatic cell

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germ cell Scientific  

1. One of the diploid cells in the reproductive organs of a multicellular organism that undergo division and are the precursors of haploid gametes, such as a spermatogonium or oogonium.

2. See gamete

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Etymology

Origin of germ cell

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Her only physical abnormalities, it seemed, were mild brain inflammation and a teratoma—a rare kind of germ cell tumor—in her ovary.

From Science Magazine • May 15, 2024

In eukaryotic cell division, genomic information is equally distributed to daughter cells during mitosis, whereas it is halved during a specialized type of cell division called meiosis?which is necessary for germ cell production.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

He was admitted to a hospital with unusual pain nine days earlier and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of germ cell cancer.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 25, 2021

For these two stressors, samples were collected 30 min after exposure, corresponding to an ‘early response test’ showing suppression of germ cell production is not immediate.

From Nature • Mar. 15, 2014

Now we know that the child comes from the germ cells which are not made by the bodies of the parents but have arisen by the division of the antecedent germ cell.

From Manhood of Humanity. by Korzybski, Alfred